A musical involving sex, drugs and munchies so strong that people turn into cannibals came to 111 Forum this weekend.
No Refund Theatre performed “Reefer Madness,” which is based off of the 1936 propaganda film, over the weekend in connection to the drug culture holiday known as 4/20.
Co-Director Talia Berger said the show is “hilarious” and said it is great for people, especially college kids, to come laugh at.
Berger (sophomore-film ) said the original film has gained a “cult audience” and that this musical is just a large addition to the humor and mockery about the shame put on those who do drugs.
“It’s a great commentary on marijuana and how the public views it and how the times have changed,” she said.
The musical tells a tale of Jimmy, who is in love with a girl named Mary, and how he wants to become more confident and impress her.
Jimmy gets caught up with the wrong crowd and becomes addicted to marijuana, which causes chaos to ensue.
The musical hones in on the overly dramatic beliefs that some people had about the drug and what it would do to America’s youth. The first song constantly repeats a line stating that marijuana is “turning all your children into hooligans and whores.”
The show relied on lighting to set the mood of the performance and add to the drama.
Each time something drastic would occur involving drugs, a red light would cover the actors and the cast would sing “reefer madness.” Whenever anyone began to get high, they would be enveloped in a green light.
The show went out of its way to point out some of the ridiculous points the propaganda film tried to use to deter teenagers from using drugs.
Throughout all of “Reefer Madness,” whenever something bad happened because of drugs a girl would walk across the stage holding a sign making claims such as “reefer makes you sell your baby.”
The musical dramatized the effects of marijuana, saying it makes teenagers participate in overly sexual behavior, makes them murderers and makes women sell their babies for drug money.
Ben Sereda, co-director, said he loves the show because of its absolute “absurdity.”
Sereda (junior-human geography ) said the musical pulls off satire very well.
“It makes us think about all the politics that went into producing that stigma about pot,” he said. “It’s nice to have a show that makes a joke about all of that because some people take it so seriously.”
The show uses religion as well as fear of communism to show how the film tried to frighten and shame drug users into quitting.
A few times throughout the musical, Jesus, who tries to show him why marijuana is bad, confronts Jimmy. And while Jimmy is in prison Jesus gloats to Jimmy because he never took his advice.
Numerous times during “Reefer Madness,” the ridiculous over-exaggerations had audience members laughing and cheering.
Many students came out to the performance because they heard it was humorous and wanted to support friends involved in the production.
Silvia Oriani said she was excited to see her roommate and also to hear the live music from the pit band.
Oriani (junior-neuropsychology) also said she thought NRT’s free performances were a great opportunity for college students on a budget to see theater.
“I think it’s really cool because no one wants to pay a lot each weekend,” she said.
